The Confidence Woman by Judith Van Gieson

dog is one of Jess’s strays, but she’s a sweet stray. No one would ever accuse Evelyn of being sweet. Boring maybe. Boring may be inconspicuous but it isn’t sweet.”
    â€œWhen did you discover that Evelyn had used your credit cards?”
    â€œI didn’t until Amaral called me. When the bills showed up, I just assumed Allison was the offender. She’s sixteen. She couldn’t cope after the baby was born and I took her in. She had problems with drugs. She had access to my mail and credit card offers. I assumed she was selling the stuff she bought or trading it for drugs. Jess didn’t want to believe she would do it, but I thought he was in denial. Amaral said I should have reported it to the police right away, but I didn’t see the point. I thought it was something we would work out here.”
    â€œDid Evelyn steal something you valued from the house?”
    â€œSome of my mother’s silver was missing. It had been replaced with silver plate. When I discovered the switch, I attributed that to Allison, too.”
    â€œWas it found in Evelyn’s house?”
    â€œYes. Detective Amaral said I could claim it after the investigation is over. It isn’t that valuable, but it was my mother’s so it means something to me.”
    â€œDid Evelyn send you a nightgown from Victoria’s Secret?”
    â€œShe did. It was peach colored. Jess liked it,” Elizabeth smiled and opened the cell phone.
    â€œDidn’t you wonder where it had come from?”
    â€œNot for long. Would you like to meet Jess?” Before Claire could respond, Elizabeth dialed a number. “Sweetie,” she said. “I have an old friend here who’d like to meet you. Okay. We’ll be right over.” She put the phone down and turned to Claire. “He’s in his shop. Jess is a fine woodworker.”
    She lifted the dog’s head from her lap and stood up. Claire followed her out the door, across the patio and into Jess’s shop. He was standing at a workbench polishing an inlaid wooden bowl. The jeans he wore demonstrated that his legs were as long as Elizabeth’s. Jess was Anglo, but he had adopted an Indian look. His black hair was parted in the middle and pulled back into a ponytail. He wore a silver and turquoise bracelet. It was a strong statement, but Jess was too pale to carry it off. He seemed lacking in energy to Claire. He had to be ten years younger than she and Elizabeth, old enough to have fathered a sixteen-year-old girl, but young to be a grandfather. He would be a trophy in some people’s eyes, but not in Claire’s. Elizabeth, who had enough drive for two, had the ability to steal other people’s life force. It was the price they paid for drifting into her orbit.
    Jess showed Claire the bowl he’d been working on. She admired it even though she thought the workmanship was sloppy.
    â€œClaire and I went to college together. She was robbed by Evelyn, too,” Elizabeth said.
    Jess shook his head. “There was something about Evelyn I didn’t trust, but Elizabeth, she trusts everybody.”
    Claire thought that Jess had to be under Elizabeth’s influence to make that statement. In her experience the only people Elizabeth trusted were the people she controlled.
    â€œNow that the police have established Evelyn was murdered, Detective Amaral thinks one of us did it, but you know it wasn’t me. I was with you, wasn’t I, darling?” Elizabeth put her arm around Jess and leaned her head on his shoulder.
    â€œOf course you were,” Jess replied.
    â€œThe state of the body makes it impossible to establish the exact time of death,” Claire pointed out.
    â€œIt doesn’t matter. Whenever it was, Jess and I were together,” Elizabeth said.
    Claire glanced at her watch. “It’s been good visiting with you, but I need to go. I’m on my way to Lynn Granger’s.”
    â€œGive her